The Rings of Power Season 3 Will Show Sauron Forging the One Ring

Sauron commands armies and conquers kingdoms in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but his own insecurity may be one of the biggest obstacles to his ambition: forging the One Ring.

Season 3 begins five years after the fall of the Elven realm of Eregion. Sauron, played by Charlie Vickers, has made considerable progress toward conquering Middle-earth, but the One Ring remains beyond his grasp. That is despite his experience working with the elven smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to forge many of the other rings of power.

Vickers says Sauron’s problem is personal.

“I think what he’s actually missing is — and this sounds weird saying it about Sauron — but genuine self-belief,” Vickers tells Polygon. “It’s so funny when you join him, because we think of him as an all-conquering villain, which he is in a way, but he also fails a lot.”

The Rings of Power has explored Sauron’s failures before. Season 2 opens with a defeat unique to the show: After Morgoth’s downfall, Sauron tries to crown himself the new Dark Lord, but Adar (Sam Hazeldine) and the orcs reject him. They stab him repeatedly at the would-be coronation, destroying his physical body and reducing him to a mass of black slime.

Sauron expects the orcs to recognize his authority without giving them much reason to follow him. Adar, in contrast, understands their desire for freedom, security, and a homeland. Sauron sees them as soldiers, and when they reject his leadership, he cannot stop them.

Series co-creator Patrick McKay says those earlier failures may help explain Sauron’s struggles at the start of season 3.

“There’s nothing worse than a supervillain with an insecurity,” McKay says. “Sauron wants to be the dark lord, but until he’s made that ring, he actually isn’t yet. That speaks to a splinter of insecurity in his mind.”

Sauron’s insecurity has grown as he tries to step out of the shadow of his former master, Morgoth. In McKay’s view, Sauron is still performing the role of Dark Lord rather than fully inhabiting it.

“He’s trying to embody the dark lord, but he hasn’t become the dark lord yet,” McKay says. “That insecurity is driving him crazy.”

Sauron’s pursuit of control

Sauron’s obsession with authority contrasts with Aragorn, the reluctant king who will eventually lead the free people of Middle-earth against him.

In Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films, Aragorn initially resists his royal destiny. He fears the weakness that led his ancestor Isildur to succumb to the One Ring’s temptation. Yet Aragorn’s courage, compassion, and willingness to sacrifice himself inspire loyalty. Even Boromir, who initially doubts his claim to the throne, eventually recognizes him as king.

Tolkien’s Sauron, by contrast, is not especially interested in earning affection. Morgoth’s rebellion against Eru Ilúvatar became a campaign to corrupt and destroy creation. Sauron seeks to impose his own vision of order on Middle-earth, dominating and reorganizing the world according to his will.

Before joining Morgoth and becoming corrupted, Sauron was a lesser god associated with craftsmanship and creation, with an affinity for order and efficiency. While Morgoth sought to ruin the world, Sauron believes he can perfect it through absolute control.

Unable to persuade the peoples of Middle-earth to follow him willingly, Sauron turns to his craft. His answer is a network of magical artifacts that will compel obedience. But the One Ring carries a contradiction.

In The Silmarillion, Tolkien explains that Sauron had to put much of his own strength and will into the One Ring so it could govern the lesser rings. In Letter 121, Tolkien expands on the idea that exercising power in the world requires placing it in something outside oneself, where it can be captured or destroyed. Sauron’s attempt at absolute control therefore leaves him vulnerable, a tension The Rings of Power appears interested in exploring.

McKay and his co-showrunner J.D. Payne always intended season 3 to center on the creation of the One Ring, but they wanted it to be more than a fantastical weapon.

“We really wanted the One Ring to mean something to Sauron’s character,” McKay says. “We wanted it to be something he had to earn. Something that would change him and that could hopefully then change the world.”

Vickers describes Sauron’s struggle as practical as well as psychological. Sauron believes Celebrimbor died with knowledge needed to complete the Ring. Sauron killed the smith himself after losing control.

“He thinks Celebrimbor died with a secret,” Vickers says, “and that is true, in a way.”

Sauron’s difficulties fit a broader pattern in Tolkien’s mythology. Despite his power, he has suffered many defeats, often because of his own arrogance. In season 3, his fear of inadequacy sits alongside his desire to become the ruler he believes he is destined to be.

Sauron wants to use his craft to eliminate resistance rather than earn loyalty. First, he must overcome his insecurities and become the Dark Lord capable of ruling the world.

Source: Polygon